Roswell Beach
by dancingirl87
Summary: Sisters Isabel, Tess and Maria DeLuca move to Roswell Beach, California in the summer before their junior year, with their single father. They soon find out that they aren't as new to Roswell Beach as they thought, and that they have a calling they can't
1. Prologue

Title- Roswell Beach  
Author- Robyn  
Rating- PG-13 at the most   
Spoilers- None  
Disclaimer- I own nothing.   
Category- AU, all CC's  
Summary- Sisters Isabel, Tess and Maria DeLuca move to Roswell Beach, California in the summer before their junior year, with their single father. They soon find out that they aren't as new to Roswell Beach as they thought, and that they have a calling they can't ignore.  
  
*********  
  
Prologue  
  
"Okay, so what do you think of it, Izzy?" Maria DeLuca asked, throwing herself down on her bed, which was also the bottom bunk of a battered bunk bed set. She propped her head up with both her hands and looked imploringly at her sister with wide green eyes.   
  
"It's small. There's only one movie theatre and it only has three screens. The shopping mall is a quarter of the one back in New York," Isabel said. "I don't think I even saw a bus station!"  
  
"The beach looks really nice though," Tess piped up, grinning at Maria. "We'll have to check it out tomorrow. Scout for some guys. You know." Tess winked and collapsed on her bed in a fit of giggles.  
  
Isabel rolled her eyes at Tess. "Dad said that there's only one high school. Can you believe that? Everyone must know everyone else here."  
  
"One high school?" Maria wrinkled her nose. "That means if we make a bad impression and no one likes us, we still have to stay there, because there's nowhere else to go."  
  
"That's stupid, Ria," Isabel told her. "Everyone will like us. I mean what's not to like?" Isabel waved her hands around and gestured to her clothes and hair. "I mean, I look great. You look great. Tess looks great. Everyone will love us."  
  
Tess, recovered from her giggle fit, looked up blonde curls a mess and said, "Everyone will love me."  
  
Enraged (It didn't take hardly anything to get Maria mad), Maria leapt onto Tess's bed and poked a finger under her ribs. Tess screeched and tried to wiggle away. But Maria was the master tickler and wouldn't let Tess get away.  
  
"Izzy! Help me!" Tess yelled between giggles. Isabel jumped onto the bed to help her sister. She reached for Maria's midriff and tickled her stomach. Maria yelled, and let go of Tess. Tess jumped right back in though, and started tickling Maria's feet, almost getting kicked in the face as Maria tried to get away.  
  
Suddenly, there was a huge crash from the other side of the room, and all three girls looked up to see a picture that had been hanging on the wall had fallen on the floor and smashed.  
  
"It wasn't me!" Maria exclaimed quickly. She detangled herself and walked over to investigate.  
  
"Well it wasn't me," Isabel said, sitting up and reaching to fix her hair.  
  
Tess looked at them both. "It wasn't me either! You guys know how careful I am!" She walked over to Maria. "Maybe it just fell, you know. We were really moving and the bed might have hit the wall and travelled down it and made the picture fall. You know."  
  
Isabel only laughed and shook her head. "It was one of us. Couldn't you feel it?"  
  
"I guess so," Tess admitted. "Well it definitely wasn't me."  
  
"And it wasn't me," Isabel told Tess. "Then there's only one person it could have been."  
  
Isabel and Tess both turned around to see Maria creeping out the door of their bedroom. She was almost all the way out when Tess shouted, "Maria!"  
  
Maria turned guiltily around and made a face. "What? I didn't mean to do it. My hands were waving around and it just happened. Sorry." By the end she was yelling.  
  
"Well you can't let it 'just happen'. No one knows about us here and I for one want it to stay like that, okay?" Isabel snapped.  
  
"Well you can't tell me what to do Izzy!" Maria yelled. "I could just go into town and start waving my hands around if I wanted to!"  
  
"Guys, calm down," Tess said, stepping between the two blondes. "We're all on edge today, I know. We just moved to a whole new town where we don't know anybody, okay? But can you guys just calm down? Please? I don't want the neighbours to hear us yelling."  
  
Maria, while glaring at Isabel, knew the neighbours wouldn't hear. There were no apartment buildings in Roswell Beach, and the nearest building to their house was the house across the street. Their father had bought a tiny house, basically right in the middle of nowhere as Isabel had put it. Really, it was on the outskirts of town.  
  
"Okay," Maria said, mostly just so they could get out of the house. Dusk was approaching, and Maria wanted to head down to the beach. "Sorry Iz."  
  
"Sorry Ria. I just want to fit in here," Isabel said, coming over to Maria and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.  
  
"I know you do," Maria said. "C'mon let's head down to the beach. See if we can meet anyone. It'll be fun!"  
  
As normal, Maria had gone from a downright grumpy mood, to an excited childish one. And as usual, Isabel and Maria were fighting one minute and hugging the next. Tess didn't really understand it, but she guessed it had something to do with Isabel being born first and Maria being born last. They were always doing something together.   
  
"Okay," Tess agreed, happy that it had been a short fight. She wrapped an arm around Maria's other shoulder, and the three left the room.  
  
"Wait guys. We should clean up the picture before dad gets back," Isabel said. She turned around to face the room and waved her hand in the direction of the broken picture. It magically glued itself together and sprung back to its place on the wall.  
  
"Very nice," Maria complemented. Then she took a look at herself and her sisters. "We are so not dressed for the beach girls."   
  
Maria waved her hand at herself and she was suddenly dressed in a black bikini and a knee-length black sarong with silver stars. On her feet were silver and black flip-flops. Maria's shoulder blade-length blonde hair was twisted into a French twist.  
  
Tess waved a hand over herself and suddenly she was wearing a baby blue bikini under white jean shorts. Tess wore white sneakers on her feet and her shoulder length blonde hair was tied back in a curly ponytail on top of her head.  
  
Isabel spun around and when she faced her sisters again, she wore a red bikini and an ankle length flowered skirt, tied at her hip. Isabel wore strappy red sandals and her long honey blonde hair was left hanging down her back.  
  
"We look so hot," Tess said excitedly. She slipped her arms through Isabel and Maria's. "Let's hit the beach!"  
  
*********  
  
tbc...  
  
Please let me know what you all thought! 


	2. Chapter 1

Title- Roswell Beach  
Author- Robyn  
Rating- PG-13 at the most   
Spoilers- None  
Disclaimer- I own nothing.   
Category- AU, all CC's  
Summary- Sisters Isabel, Tess and Maria DeLuca move to Roswell Beach, California in the summer before their junior year, with their single father. They soon find out that they aren't as new to Roswell Beach as they thought, and that they have a calling they can't ignore.  
  
*********  
  
Part One  
  
Roswell Beach's main beach was located right off Main Street. During the day families set up camp on the sand and played and swam under the sun. There was a concession stand where people could order fries or ice cream, and a restaurant that looked out onto the water.   
  
Around lunchtime, the beach got really busy. Locals came down for a swim, tourists drove in for the day, or summer day camps came for the afternoon. The long stretch of sand was filled with towels and colourful umbrellas.  
  
At night though, the youth of Roswell Beach went down to the beach to 'hang'. They built campfires, met up with friends, and ate lots of food. You never knew who was going to be down on the beach. Sometimes the teens went into the variety store, the last one by the sand, and bought glow sticks, glow eyeglasses, glow teeth, and then snuck up on people and scared the crap out of tem.  
  
When Maria, Isabel and Tess got to the beach it was almost dark, and there was an array of activity on the sand. There were fires, people yelling and singing, games being played, and people swimming and surfing in the water, even though you weren't really supposed to go in after dark.  
  
"Well, where should we go?" Isabel asked as they walked onto the sand. She looked around at all the different groups of people.   
  
Maria looked around. There were too many people. "I don't know," She wailed. "Whoever we sit with now could make or break our high school career."  
  
Isabel sighed. "Not this again, Ria." She folded her arms across her chest.  
  
Maria glared at her sister and fisted her hands at her hips. "What? It's true Iz!"  
  
Tess rolled her eyes and looked around too. "What about them," She suggested, gesturing to a group of about eight teens sitting chummily around a glowing fire. They had roasting sticks and were cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows.  
  
"They don't look very popular," Isabel said, wrinkling her nose. "Look how everyone moves from group to group, but nobody goes over to them." Tess and Maria glanced around. Isabel was right.   
  
"Well, let's just go over and introduce ourselves. If we don't like them we'll erase their memories," Tess giggled. Isabel gaped at her, while Maria was suspicious.  
  
"We can't erase memories Tess," Maria told her.  
  
"Yet," Tess inputted.  
  
"And if we could we wouldn't," Isabel said, turning her body so the three sisters formed a tiny circle. "It could be dangerous."  
  
"Jeez, Iz. You don't need to lecture me on everything. I was just kidding around," Tess said, getting angry. "You're not my mother!"  
  
Isabel was silent.   
  
Maria gasped. "Tess!" She hissed. "What the hell are you trying to-"  
  
"Hi there!" A strange female voice interrupted their argument. "You three must be the new girls. It's all over town about you and your dad moving here. I think you're the first new people since last year. Can you believe that?"  
  
Tess, Isabel and Maria all turned around to face the quick talking stranger.   
  
"Oops. Sorry, I'm Miranda Clemens. I have a tendency to babble. Do you want to come and join us?"   
  
"Sure," Maria answered. Her sisters were standing staring, barely keeping their mouths closed. "I'm Maria and these are my sisters Tess and Isabel."  
  
"Hi," Tess greeted with a smile. She was a cutie. Short and thin with shoulder length light brown hair, and big brown eyes, Miranda had a huge smile and made Tess want to grin right along with her.  
  
"Hey," Isabel echoed.  
  
"Come on, let's go." Miranda linked her arm through Maria's and the two walked off together, leaving Isabel and Tess to follow them. When they got there, Miranda was shooing people off a log to make room for the three of them to sit down.  
  
Once they were seated with the group, everyone started talking and asking questions at once.  
  
"Guys, settle down," Miranda scolded from her seat next to Maria. Maria had taken an immediate liking to her, and they had giggled the whole way over to the group. "You're going to scare them away."  
  
Tess laughed. "Nothing can scare us away."  
  
Miranda shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say. Anyways, this is Maria, Tess and Isabel. They're the new ones."  
  
"Are you girl's sisters?" A guy from across the fire asked. He was blonde, and looked nerdy, with large glasses and a pimply face.  
  
"Yeah," Isabel answered. "We're triplets, all born on Halloween."  
  
"Cool. Can you like, talk psychically? Can you hear each other's thoughts? I read that twins and triplets can feel each other's feelings." The guy kept on going on about thought linking and stuff like that.  
  
"Jeff, cool it man. You're acting like a dork." The tall, lanky guy beside Jeff rolled his eyes at his friend, and shook his head. "The pretty girls aren't going to want to date you if you keep acting like a nerd."  
  
Jeff gulped, pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at Isabel.  
  
But Isabel only had eyes for the other guy.   
  
"Hey, I'm Alex," He said, smiling at Isabel. She nearly fainted.   
  
"Isabel," She squeaked out.  
  
He grinned again. "Yeah, I know." Isabel didn't respond, and they sat and smiled at each other.  
  
"Hey, Iz, want some marshmallows?" Tess asked, turning to her sister. Isabel was staring off into space though, so Tess poked her in the side and shoved the bag of marshmallows under her nose. "Here you go!" She said cheerily.  
  
Isabel turned her head and glared Tess, snatching the bag away from her and shoving a round, squashy marshmallow onto the end of a stick someone had handed her.  
  
"So-orry," Tess muttered.  
  
"Never mind," Isabel said, watching her marshmallow cook.   
  
"Well, why don't we go around and introduce ourselves," Miranda suggested cheerfully. "Maria, Tess and Isabel don't know anybody yet."  
  
Isabel thought it was dorky, but it sounded okay, if it meant she could meet some more people, and of course, hear Alex's voice again.  
  
"I'll start," Miranda decided. "I'm Miranda."  
  
"Katie."  
  
"Logan."  
  
"Jessica."  
  
"Jeff."  
  
"Alex."   
  
Ooh. His voice was like honey. Isabel didn't even hear any of the other names. She was too busy replaying his voice in her head.  
  
"Iz."   
  
Isabel jerked her head up, and looked around. Everyone was looking expectantly at her. She could only guess that it was her turn. "Isabel."  
  
"Tess."  
  
"Maria."  
  
There was a nice little moment of silence, when you could only hear the crackly of the fire, the muffled voices of the other people on the beach, and the huge waves crashing onto the beach.  
  
"What's the school like?" Maria asked out of the blue.  
  
Miranda considered the question for a second. "It's pretty normal. There are your jocks, your cheerleaders, your nerds, your potheads, and your gang members. And then there's the 'In Crowd'."  
  
"In Crowd?" Tess repeated.  
  
"Yeah." Jessica took over. She was a tiny girl, with a short blonde bob, dark brown eyes and a mouthful of braces. "They're the most popular kids at school. They're all rich and they live in the mansions that overlook the beach, farther down. You'd probably be best to just steer clear of them."  
  
"Why?" Isabel asked.   
  
"They have this initiation that they do on the freshmen that want to hang with them, or the new kids that try and make friends with them," Miranda explained.  
  
"What is it?" Tess asked, getting interested.  
  
"Well, they make you come down here, to the beach in the middle of the night, and surf on of the waves," Jessica told them. "It's really dangerous, because when it's dark out you can't see as well, and you're more likely to hit something, and drown easier."  
  
"How do you guys know what the initiation is?" Maria asked.   
  
"I live on the beach," Miranda said. "I've watched the poor kids swimming for it in the pitch black."  
  
"Oh my God. Why doesn't anyone do anything?" Isabel asked. "Has anyone ever gotten hurt before?"  
  
"Yeah," Miranda answered, glancing across the fire. "Alex."  
  
Isabel's stomach just about dropped to her toes. Alex? Alex that was sitting across from her. Isabel didn't know why, but the thought of Alex being hurt, made Isabel's head spin and her chest hurt.   
  
"Ohmigosh!" Maria exclaimed. "Alex?! Are you all right? When did this happen? Ohmigosh!"  
  
Alex smiled lazily. "It's all right Maria. It was two years ago. I only got a broken leg and a concussion."  
  
Maria breathed easier. So did Isabel.  
  
"What are these kids' names?" Tess asked. "So I know whom to steer clear of."  
  
"Well there's Hannah Grimes, Devon Juno, Sara Halstead, Li-"  
  
"Oh my God!" A female voice screamed loudly. "Michael!"  
  
"Michael!" A male voice joined in yelling.  
  
Maria leapt up and turned to face where the yelling was coming from. One of the groups of people were running towards the water, screaming and yelling for some kid names Michael. Maria didn't know why, but she felt that something was gravely wrong. She started running after all the other kids.  
  
"Maria! Where are you going?" Isabel yelled after her.  
  
Maria ignored her though, and kept running towards the ocean. The girl who had screamed first was already wading in the water, and when Maria looked closer she could see a body floating in the water.   
  
Facedown.  
  
Maria felt panic begin to set in. She ditched her skirt and was ready to jump in when she rethought what she was doing. No one would be able to get out to him fast enough. But wait! What was that stupid spell Tess had been writing last week? It was on the tip of her tongue.  
  
iI am needed somewhere else,  
But I am not there.  
I need to get there lickety split,  
To save someone's hair./i  
  
It sucked, but it worked. Maria closed her eyes, chanted the words and when she opened them she was treading water beside the guy.  
  
"Okay, time to go," She muttered, flipping the guy over onto his back. His hair was plastered to his head, and there was a nasty looking bump where Maria assumed his surfboard his hit his head. The only reason she knew he had been surfing was because he was wearing a wetsuit.  
  
iThis body weighs too much for me,  
Make it lighter to help me./i  
  
It was another one of Tess's spells, and when Maria muttered it, the guy became feather light and floated on his own. All Maria had to do was tug on his arm and she swam for shore. When she got closer she could make out Tess and Isabel, looking frightened and panicked standing beside a worried looking Miranda, and a scared looking Jessica. The rest of their group stood behind them.  
  
Tess and Iz were going to be pissed.  
  
tbc...  
  
*********  
  
Well, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? 


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks so much to Chrissy, Elle, Ava, Karen, mandm fan, Actrez, raven waves, sam, emily, Fate *hugs*, roswellsgurl, m&m crazy, fairysk8r, StardustDreamer and Ruby! I never expected so much feedback!  
  
Author's Note: I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow afternoon, so the next part won't be until after I get back. I'm coming back on the 25th or 26th so expect a lot of parts after that. I'm going to have four days of driving to write stuff, so I'll have lots of new parts for you all! ~ROBYN  
  
I disclaim.  
  
****  
  
Part Two  
  
Isabel, Maria and Tess were eating breakfast in the Surfside Restaurant. Isabel and Tess were sitting on one side of a booth, while Maria was across from them.  
  
Maria sighed heavily, and swished her strawberry-kiwi juice-type-thing around in her glass. She watched the ice and juice swirl together, and nodded her head every few seconds, so Isabel wouldn't yell at her for not listening too.  
  
Isabel was still ranting and raving about last night, and Tess was nodding and adding empathic "uh-huh's" right along with everything that Isabel said. Of course, since they were in a public place, Isabel was toning her lecture down, but Maria had heard the full-fledged rant last night.  
  
****  
  
"Maria!" Isabel yelled, pacing across their bedroom floor. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! I saw you use those spells! Someone could have heard! Someone could have seen! What were you thinking?!"  
  
Maria, dry and dressed in childish fish pyjamas was flopped on her back on her bottom bunk. While Isabel had been yelling, Maria had been quietly not paying attention, and now Isabel was glaring at her.   
  
Maria guessed that Isabel had either asked her a question she was expecting an answer from, or that Isabel and Tess had decided to put Maria out of her misery.  
  
Maria glanced over at Tess and saw her looking expectantly at Maria. Okay then, better give Iz some kind of answer.   
  
"Sorry," Maria said in a small voice, and making her face look sad and apologetic.  
  
"No you're not!" Tess exclaimed. "You're just saying that so we'll leave you alone."  
  
"So? I'm tired and you guys won't shut up! I mean, I think you've yelled the same things at me about six times!"  
  
"So?" Isabel mocked. "You were wrong!"  
  
"I know!" Maria shouted. "But I saved somebody's life. Can you understand that Iz? Tess? He wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me!"  
  
****  
  
"Hi, can I get you anything else?" Their waitress, a petite redhead asked politely, smiling at them.  
  
"No thanks," Maria replied. "I'm so full."  
  
Tess nodded. "Can I have another orange juice please?" The girl nodded and noted it down on her pad.  
  
Isabel sighed. "I'll have a cappuccino please. Thanks."  
  
The girl nodded again and walked away writing on her notepad.  
  
Isabel went back to talking, and Maria went back to swirling her drink around again.  
  
"Are you listening to me, Ria?" Isabel asked a few minutes later.  
  
Maria looked up from her drink and nodded at Isabel. This was good. If Isabel was calling Maria by her nickname, then that meant she was getting over this whole thing. Then maybe things could get back to normal.   
  
Of course, Maria only wanted things to be normal if it included going out with that cute Michael guy that she had pulled out of the water last night. Maria figured if he was that hot soaking wet and unconscious, then think of how hot he would be when he was dry and talking to her.  
  
****  
  
Maria, panting and soaking wet, finally touched the bottom and dragged the guy (Michael?) up onto the sand. People swarmed around them, and Maria was pushed back, after laying him onto the ground. Someone had called 911, and there was an ambulance just pulling up.  
  
Maria tried to push her was through the absurdly large crowd, but didn't have any luck, being about a foot smaller than everyone else on the entire beach. Hey, maybe she could crawl under everyone! Maria didn't know why, but she was almost beginning to panic. She had to make sure that the guy was all right.  
  
"Move back; move back please," a paramedic ordered, trying to push his was through the crowd. The crowd parted, and Maria saw the guys on the ground where she had left him, with the brunette that had been running into the water beside him and another brown haired guy on his other side, before the crowd closed up again.  
  
Someone grabbed her shoulder suddenly, and Maria whirled around to see an angry Isabel and a worried Tess. If Maria knew her sisters, Isabel was mad that she had used her powers in public, and Tess was worried that the guys was hurt, and that Isabel and Maria were going to fight again.  
  
"What were you thinking Maria? You used you powers in public! We swore to never do that!" Isabel whispered angrily.   
  
"Is he all right?" Tess asked, looking over at the crowd. She looked back at her sisters and saw them glaring at each other. "You guys please don't fight."  
  
"We're not going to fight, Tess," Maria assured her sister. "Isabel's just going to lecture me for hours on end.  
  
****  
  
And here they were, Maria thought. Hours and hours later, and Iz was still talking. Okay, we need a distraction. Maria looked around and saw Miranda and Katie from last night entering the restaurant. Trying to look inconspicuous and like she was listening to Isabel at the same time, Maria reached up over hear head and pretended to check that her hair was still in place. She just hoped that Miranda and Katie saw her.  
  
Maria decided to actually listen to Isabel for a few minutes. At least until Miranda and Katie came over.  
  
"So, you understand why it's so dangerous, right?" Isabel continued without waiting for an answer. "It would be disastrous if someone found out. The could tell dad, we'd be on the news, in the paper-"  
  
"Hi there!"  
  
Maria looked up and saw her saviours. "Hi Miranda! Hey Katie! What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"We saw you through the window and thought we'd come in and say hi," Miranda told her.  
  
Isabel didn't look too happy that the two girls had interrupted her lecture. "Hey guys."  
  
"You're dressed for the beach," Tess observed. "Are you going swimming or something?"  
  
Miranda was wearing a pale pink and white plaid tankini, and Katie was wearing a navy one piece. Both girls had shorts on over top of their suits.  
  
"Nope, Alex is going to teach us to surf today," Kate answered. "He kept on saying he would, and now he's finally going to!" Both girls looked very excited and Isabel perked up at the mention of Alex's name.  
  
"Hey, do you guys want to learn to? Or do you already know how? Alex would probably teach you guys as well," Miranda said, talking at light speed.  
  
"Sure!" Isabel and Maria answered at the same time, then looked at each other.  
  
"Okay," Miranda said slowly. "Well, do you have your suits on already? Or do you have to run home?"  
  
Maria looked at Tess and Isabel. "We have our suits with us. Is there a change house or anything?" Miranda nodded. "Okay, just let me run to the bathroom, while Isabel pays the bill. Then we can go." Maria slid out of the booth, slung her purse over her shoulder and went into the ladies bathroom.  
  
"Okay," She muttered, concentrating. With a wave of her hand her purse was almost twice as big and inside there were three different bathing suits. Maria grinned. Perfect!  
  
When she came out of the bathroom, everyone was waiting for her by the door. Alex was with them now, and Isabel was flirting like mad. When she got over to them, Alex greeted her and Miranda looked at her bag sort of funny, but didn't say anything.   
  
"Okay, are we ready?" Tess asked, grinning like mad. She was so excited about learning to surf. It looked so awesome!  
  
"Yep," Miranda said, and led the group out the door. Maria was the last one out, and as the left, she had the weirdest feeling that someone was watching her.  
  
****  
  
tbc...  
  
Like it? Hate it? Any feedback is appreciated 


	4. Chapter 3

Part Three  
  
Later that day, after a disastrous surfing lesson by everyone except Isabel and Katie, Tess, Maria and Isabel decided to look around Roswell Beach some more and enlisted Miranda as their tour guide. It had been Maria's idea in the beginning, so she could maybe get Miranda to show her where Michael lived, and so, after a quick dinner at home, Miranda sitting in the father's place, the four girls headed downtown.   
  
All four girls wore Capri's and tank tops in assorted colours, and looked 'smashing' as Miranda had put it, making the sisters' laugh.  
  
"Well," Miranda said as they walked past storefronts beginning to close up shop. "Roswell Beach is pretty easy to understand. There are only three main streets really, which accounts for the lack of public transportation here. You've either got to have your own car, which only the popular crowd does, or you walk everywhere like us common folk. Do you guys have your own car?" Miranda asked curiously.  
  
Tess snorted. "Yeah, right. I don't think our dad even realizes we're old enough to drive."  
  
Miranda looked appalled. "Really?" She gasped.  
  
Isabel nodded, then changed the subject. "Where are we now?"  
  
The girls had left Main Street where mostly all the cafe's and shops were, excluding the mall, and were now strolling along a mostly residential area.  
  
"Whoops," Miranda said guiltily. "I'm getting us off track, aren't I? This is Scotsburn Ave. It's mostly homes, but there's some shops down at the end."  
  
"Yes!" Maria exclaimed. "Stores!" She fingered the black purse slung across her chest. "Would they still be open?"  
  
Miranda checked the watch on her left wrist. "Yeah, they should be. At least the good ones. The owners know to stay open at night, because that's when all the teens go shopping. They're at the beach all during the day, you know."  
  
"Oh, right," Tess said. "So what stores are down there?"  
  
"Some clothes stores, a shoe store. The normal," Miranda answered. Then a strange look came over her face, and she said, "well, there is one other store. It's really weird though. It's a witchcraft store, with books and spells and stuff. Alex and me went in there one, and scared ourselves silly."  
  
Tess, Maria and Isabel exchanged a long look.  
  
There was a long pause before Maria asked, "Which building is it?"  
  
"Oh, it's that one; down on the end of the street," Miranda answered. She pointed to an old building that looked like it might have been a house once. "See, it has the sign in front?"  
  
Maria looked where Miranda had pointed, and saw the house, with a sign hanging on an iron post reading Wheeler's Wiccan Goods. The paint was peeling off the sign, much the same as it had on the building. From the looks of the store, it wasn't visited very often and the owner didn't have enough money to repaint the building. Or that's what Maria assumed.  
  
"Hey, why don't we go in?" Isabel suggested, stopping the group a few feet from the building. "It'll be fun, we can just look around, or whatever."  
  
"No way," Miranda said, shaking her head. "I'm not going in there again."  
  
Tess and Maria pouted, as Isabel turned to look at the building again. "Hey, look! There's Alex!" Isabel sounded incredibly excited, and she started walking over to the tall teen, who was looking at the store with a funny look on his face.  
  
Maria rolled her eyes as she saw her sister run a hand casually over her face to touch up her make-up and smooth her shirt down over her stomach. "She's way gone," She whispered to Tess as the three remaining girls strode down to meet up with Isabel and Alex.  
  
Tess giggled. "I know. But it's good for her. Keeps her from noticing what we're doing."  
  
Maria laughed and wound her arm through Tess's, running the rest of the way. "Hi Alex," Maria said, smiling brightly at him. Tess waved with her free arm. Miranda gave her friend a hug, and Alex looked slightly embarrassed that four pretty girls were paying so much attention to him.  
  
"What are you guys doing down here?" Alex asked, his cheeks still slightly pink.  
  
"I'm showing them around," Miranda answered. "But they wanted to go into Wheeler's. I told them I wasn't going with them, you know, since the place is so creepy."  
  
"What's so creepy about it?" Maria asked. "I mean, it's only a store, right? What's so bad about that?"  
  
"It's what's inside, Maria," Alex answered, his face turning serious. "You don't want to go in."  
  
"Yes I do," Maria insisted. "I just want to check it out." She turned to look at the store once again, and felt a strange feeling wash over her. It was like she had just been dumped into an ice bath.  
  
"Maria? Are you coming?" She heard Isabel ask. "What's wrong Ria?"  
  
"C'mon, Maria," Tess said, tugging on Maria's arm, trying to pull her down the sidewalk. Maria only shook her off.  
  
"Hey, who's that?" Isabel said, glimpsing someone in the bushes around the side of the building.  
  
"Where?" Miranda asked, looking all around. "I don't see anyone."  
  
"No, no. Right over there. In the bushes." Isabel pointed over to where she meant. "See him? It's some guy looking into the windows."  
  
"Oh my God! Look at him!" Tess gasped. "Who is that?"  
  
"That's Max Evans, Alex. Look! What's he doing around here?" Miranda wondered. "He's always making fun of Old Wheeler. Why is he peeking in the windows, though?"  
  
"There must be someone else here though," Alex said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He never goes anywhere by himself." Seeing the sister's confused looks, Alex added "He was the one at the beach last night. Beside Michael Guerin, I mean. Michael is the one Maria saved." Everyone looked over at Maria and saw her begin to walk towards the bushes.   
  
"Maria!" Isabel whispered fiercely, glaring at her sister. "Come back here!" Maria ignored her though, and kept walking with determination.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Isabel followed her sister, and Tess, and a rather reluctant Alex and Miranda followed her. Maria went straight to the bushes, and everyone had no choice but to follow. On the other side of the bushes there was a space between the house and the bushes about a foot wide, and there were three boys crowded around a window on the first floor.  
  
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?" The guy Miranda had said was Max had turned around and seen the five intruders. "Hey guys, look." The other two guys didn't turn around though, and Max said, "Get lost," and turned back to the window.  
  
"What are you guys looking at anyways," Maria said, walking up behind them and trying to peek in the window. "Is it a strip club in the back or something?"  
  
"Come on Maria, let's go," Miranda said, looking around nervously. "We can go up the road a little more. There's some more stores there."  
  
"Oh my God," Maria breathed, backing away from the window. She turned around to face Tess and Isabel, her face white as a sheet. "Oh my freaking God," She said again, louder this time.   
  
"What?" Tess asked, dread washing over her. "What is it Ria?"  
  
"Dad. Dad's in there," Maria said. Her bright green eyes were wide and frightened, and she looked like she was going to faint. The guys at the window had turned around to see what was going on, and forgot to duck down as to not be seen.  
  
"Hey! Who's out there?" Someone shouted from inside. Isabel, Tess and Maria were standing in a three-person circle, not hearing anything but each other.  
  
"What was he doing in there, Ria?" Isabel asked, seeing how frightened her youngest sister was.   
  
"He was... He was... " Maria couldn't seem to form a complete sentence.  
  
"Hey! Someone's in the bushes!" The shouting was louder this time, and it sounded like a bunch of people was running towards the window.  
  
"Shit," said one of the guys. "We gotta go."  
  
Alex grabbed Isabel's hand and pulled her out first. Miranda followed them, and Max was next. The two remaining guys grabbed Maria and Tess and pulled them out and across the front lawn.   
  
The front door was thrown open as they crossed the road, and someone yelled, "They were spying on us! Get them!"  
  
Alex, who was leading ran through someone's backyard and onto the next street, hoping that no one would follow them. beside him, Isabel was panting, but keeping up with Alex's long stride.   
  
Max, who was just behind them said, "Go to the Beach bar! Liz will be there."  
  
Alex veered right, towards the beach, and didn't question Max. He knew Liz would hide them, if only because Max told her to.  
  
In the back, Maria was running alongside, one of the guys she didn't know. She was gripping his hand tightly and didn't ever want to let go.  
  
As the lights of the Beach Bar, a popular teen hangout came into view, Maria risked a glance behind them. There was no one behind them, but for all she knew, they could be pulling up in cars in the parking lot.  
  
After what seemed like forever, everyone finally reached the back door of the Beach Bar. Max opened it and slipped inside, while everyone else waited outside on baited breath.  
  
A few seconds later, max reappeared and beckoned them in. Inside, it was dark in the room, and Maria assumed it was the back of the restaurant. Liz was waiting anxiously, and when they came in, sweaty and out of breath, she hugged the two guys Maria didn't know, then kissed the Max guy.  
  
Isabel pulled Tess and Maria into a little circle and said, "What the hell happened there?"  
  
Tess looked just as confused as Isabel felt. "I have no clue. But whoever those guys were didn't want us to see what they were doing."  
  
"And those three guys know something about it," Isabel added. "What do you think, Ria?"  
  
Maria didn't answer and Isabel waved a hand in front of her face. "Ria?"   
  
"Hmm?" Maria shook her head, and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the guy she had been running with let a loud "What?"  
  
The three sisters turned around as he walked up to them. Maria looked at him, and couldn't believe she hadn't noticed him before.  
  
"Hey, you're Maria DeLuca," he said before Maria could say a word."You saved my life yesterday."  
  
tbc... 


	5. Chapter 4

Whoops. Sorry I was a teensy bit longer than I said. I had some school problems with my schedule, and I have had a ton of projects due and homework assignments... Oook, well you probably don't need to know any of that lol. :o)  
  
Thanks so much for all the wonderful feedback! It's what makes me keep writing! :o)  
  
Now, we plunge further into the world of Roswell Beach. *g*  
  
*****  
  
Part Four  
  
Maria stared blankly in shock at him. This was Michael Guerin? she thought, mentally shaking her head. Why hadn't I noticed before? He's a freaking man-god.  
  
"You're Michael Guerin?" Maria squeaked out, still staring in shock at him.  
  
He looked uncomfortable and raked a hand through his hair, before shoving them into the pockets of his faded Levi's. "Uh, yeah. Thanks for saving my life."  
  
Still, Maria stared.  
  
"Maria," Isabel muttered, shoving her elbow into Maria's side. "Say something."  
  
"Oh, um, you're welcome," She responded lamely.  
  
There was an uncomfortable lapse of silence, where no one really knew what to say. Maria was still staring at Michael and Isabel and Tess weren't sure what to say next. Luckily, Alex saved them from saying anything at all.  
  
"What were you guys looking at in there?" He asked, walking over to the three guys. Miranda followed.   
  
"We weren't looking at anything," one of the guys explained lamely, trailing off at the end.  
  
"Yeah right, Kyle. There was something happening in there, and Maria saw it too. So you can't lie anymore," Miranda said, narrowing her eyes at the teen in front of her.  
  
With the others occupied, Tess, Isabel and Maria huddled together in a circle again. "Maria, what did you see dad doing back there?" Tess asked, turning to her sister.  
  
"Was it bad?" Isabel bit her bottom lip in anticipation.  
  
Maria looked down at the ground. "I don't want to talk about it right now. When we get home okay?"  
  
Isabel nodded and grabbed Maria's hand. Whatever it was, it had scared Maria really bad. And Maria was the toughest out of the three of them.  
  
On the other side of the room, Alex and Miranda were unsuccessfully trying to get an explanation out of Max, Michael and Kyle. Liz was standing nearby, obviously confused, and looking sort of angry at being left out of things.   
  
"Um, guys?" Tess said, trying to get the attention of everyone else. "We're going to go home now. See you tomorrow."  
  
Maria, Isabel and Tess were almost out the door when Miranda turned around and noticed them leaving.  
  
"Hey guys! Where are you going? We're just about to wear them down!" Miranda called.  
  
Maria turned around and shook her head. This wasn't a freaking game. "We're going home. It's late and I'm dead on my feet, okay. We can meet here tomorrow if you guys want. Around 9:30, all right? See you later." And with that Maria pulled her sisters out the back door of the cafe.  
  
"Let's get home as quick as we can," Isabel decided, remembering the not so nice people that had chased them from Wheeler's. Who knew where they were.   
  
Tess suddenly grinned. "I've been working on something that could get us home really fast."  
  
"What?" Isabel asked warily.  
  
"Just watch and learn," Tess assured her and Maria.   
  
i"Watch over me and my sisters three,  
Do not let us get lost.  
Bring us home as safe as can be,  
And help us escape the morning frost."/i  
  
And with that, a strong wind suddenly whipped up, and the three sister disappeared off the street corner with a small 'pop'.  
  
*****  
  
When they reappeared, Tess, after making sure that nobody noticed grinned triumphantly at Isabel and Tess. "Told you," She teased.  
  
"Yeah, so what?" Isabel returned. "I could've done that if I wanted to."  
  
"Uh, guys?" Maria asked timidly, glancing around.  
  
Tess ignored her. "You could not have! I just perfected that spell yesterday!"  
  
"Perfected?" Maria muttered in disbelief.  
  
"Well, I perfected it last week!" Isabel yelled, digging herself deeper.  
  
"Oh, you did not. You didn't even know what I was going to do," Tess said, narrowing her eyes at Isabel.  
  
"Guys?" Maria said, louder this time.  
  
"I knew!" Isabel insisted. "I could do it too!"  
  
"Well, if you could do it so well, get us out of Portland and back to Roswell Beach!" Maria shouted, gaining her sister's attention.  
  
"What?" Gasped Tess, finally glancing around. "Portland?" They were standing at the entrance of a dark alley, on a street near their old home.   
  
"You must not have been thinking about Roswell Beach being home," Maria suggested. She moved her sisters backwards into the alley until they couldn't be seen from the street. "So, Iz, if you can do this spell so well why don't you get us back home safely."  
  
Isabel looked slightly nervous. "Uh, yeah, okay."  
  
Tess rolled her eyes. "This is never going to work," she muttered. Maria shushed her, as Isabel took a deep breath before she began to speak.  
  
iWatch over me and my sisters three,   
Take us home to Roswell Beach.  
Make sure we get there fine,  
And I'll watch over yours and mine./i  
  
Tess snorted. "That's not going to wo-" But the sisters were sucked from the alley and again, disappeared with a quiet 'pop'.  
  
*****  
  
When they reappeared again, the first thing Isabel did was check where they were.   
  
"Yes!" Maria exclaimed, seeing that they were standing in front of their new house. "Way to go Iz!"  
  
Tess pouted, then turned and headed inside.  
  
"Aw, come on Tess! Don't be like that!" Isabel called after her sister, as Tess stalked inside the house, slamming the screen door shut behind her. "Tess! Wait up!" Isabel ran inside after Tess, and Maria smiled to herself.  
  
Her little plan had worked. She had messed up Tess's spell so they went to Portland, and then had made sure Isabel's worked, to get back home. She knew Tess would get angry, and Isabel would gloat about it. Now, her sisters had forgotten about Wheeler's for the time being, and Maria could think up something to tell them, besides the truth. Maybe I should be an actress, Maria thought. They never even suspected anything.   
  
Maria headed inside, happy that she had knocked her sister's off course, but desperately hoping her dad wasn't home yet. She didn't think she could deal with him right now. Not after Wheeler's.  
  
tbc... 


End file.
